MORGANTOWN – WVU faculty voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to support resolutions expressing no confidence in President Gordon Gee and calling for a freeze on the Academic Transformation process.
The votes came during a University Assembly held at the Creative Arts Center, with some attending and voting remotely from the Keyser and Beckley campuses.
The votes were 797-100 on the no-confidence resolution and 747-79 on the freeze resolution.
While faculty met inside, students lined the entryway outside, chanting, giving speeches and carrying signs saying such things as “Fire Gee” and “Stop the Cuts.”
The Gee resolution listed a number of accusations against him. Among them: He mismanaged WVU finances by wrongly predicting enrollment growth to 40,000 and redistributing resources upward to administration; and he failed to provide honest and transparent communication regarding the $45 million budget deficit, Academic Transformation and the associated cuts.
Gee was allowed five minutes to address the assembly. He opened on a light note: “I must say, if I had done all of those things, I’d probably vote no confidence in myself.”
He then turned to a defense of his tenure, telling the faculty he’s been reflecting since the introduction of the resolutions on what should be expected of a university president. “You should expect me to be very student centered.” Retention, graduation rates, student success rates, the growth of student groups all reflect that focus. he said.
Another expectation is research growth and that has doubled during his time — and he expects that to double again to $241 million. Another is healthcare for West Virginians, and the academic medical center has tripled from a $2 million enterprise to a $6 million enterprise, growing to 24 hospitals.
Since 2018, base state appropriations have grown again, he said. And while he said in 2014 — when enrollment was at 33,000 — that he hoped to grow it to 40,000, “we did not plan to grow the university on the basis of our budget. We planned the hope we would grow that [enrollment] and our budget would follow.”
WVU is audited externally every year, he said, and they’ve been clean. On transparency, 25% of the Board of Governors is faculty, staff and students. And bonding agencies have continued to regard WVU as stable, he said.
He concluded, “This is all about change, and I understand that. But I have great faith in this university, and I have all of you. I think that in the end, we’ll be a better institution. But we will proceed forward with what we are doing right now, and I think it will strengthen our institution.”
Four faculty members rose to speak, two for and two against the resolution.
Tina Faber, from the School of Social Work, said, “President Gee’s tenure has been marred by questionable decisions that have eroded trust and confidence in our university.”
Dr. John Brick, from the School of Medicine, said he graduated from the medical school in 1977 and has been with WVU longer than most in the room. “President Gee is the finest president that I have ever worked with in this university.” He’s dedicated to the land grant mission, Brick insisted, adding, “he didn’t cause this. He has had to deal with it.”
The resolution to call for a freeze on Academic Transformation makes eight points. Among them, Academic Transformation has been an opaque process; Academic Transformation has been carried out in such a way that severely deviates from academic professional norms and principles; and Academic Transformation has been built on a foundation of dishonesty, duplicity, and misleading communication.
Provost Maryanne Reed requested permission to speak to the assembly about this resolution, but her requested was voted down 406-302.
Faculty members serving as deans and those serving in central administration roles were not permitted to vote on the resolutions.
BOG faculty representative Frankie Tack presided over the assembly and said the results would be presented to the BOG, and the provost’s and president’s offices on Thursday.
BOG chair Taunja Willis-Miller issued a statement following the vote.
“The West Virginia University Board of Governors appreciates the faculty members who shared their perspectives at today’s University Faculty Assembly meeting. … We acknowledge the passage of these votes.”
“The Board of Governors unequivocally supports the leadership of President Gee and the strategic repositioning of WVU and rejects the multiple examples of misinformation that informed these resolutions. The university is transforming to better reflect the needs of today, and we must continue to act boldly. President Gee has shown time and again he is not afraid to do the difficult work required.”
Willis-Miller said the current challenges are not unique to WVU, and the BOG is determined to address the challenges head-on, and directed the administration to address Academic Transformation. “The Board maintains that we must do this work to remain competitive and relevant as we become an even stronger university.”
The BOG specified the need for Academic Transformation in December 2020, she said. “It is important to note that, although the structural budget deficit may have added to the urgency, this transformation process – particularly academic transformation – would still be taking place.”
She concluded, “We do recognize that this is a difficult process. We feel for those who may be affected. We realize this is not easy and none of this was entered into lightly. We remain committed to the work of transforming this beloved university, and together we must continue to focus on our highest priority of educating our students and serving the people of West Virginia.”
University administration and the BOG said they plan to wait for further comments until after the BOG’s Sept. 15 meeting, when it will take up the provost office’s final recommendations from the program reviews.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
